The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-02-09
AMONG THE JAPS.
UNIQUE CUSTOMS OF AN ORI-
ENTAIL NATION.
How New Years is Observed in Jap
anese Houses-Cleaning Up
Rice Bread-Making Pres
ents-Grand Pay Day.

ten to the New York Commercial Adoer-
tiser by cultured native of that coun-
try, says: During the ten days preceding
the new year every house in the land un-
dergoes thorough cleaning. To take,
for example, house of a somewhat we'll
off family: Some forty or fifty men will
be asked to do the work from among the
lower class to whom you are in the habit
of giving custom. Early in the morning,
at about 2 o'clock, they begin to arrive
and will be soon at work. The first pro-
cess is to knock dust out of the mats, of
which japanese houses are full. 1t is
done by knocking them with bamboo
pieces and also rolled mattings. Half q
dozen men, holding bamboo piece in
each hand, proceed from one end of the
room to the other, while a couple more
follow them, driving dust with the rolled
mattings. This will be repeated about
three times, and then brooms will sweep
the dust further. Every piece of the fur
niture is removed and every corner swept
and wiped. All the wood work is wiped
with wet cloths-doors, pillars, and even
the ceilings. With so many men, and
beginning so early. the whole concern is
finished before the MONDAY. A sumptu-
ous dinner is served to all who have taken
share in the cleaning. which, by the way,
is called the grand annual cleaning. 1t
must not, for the moment, be supposed
that the japanese houses are kept IN bad
condition all the year round until the new
year. Far from it; In every house in Ja-
pan, the first thing in the morning of
800 days in the year is to sweep and wipe
dust, whether or not there is dust at all.
In fact, the grand annual cleaning is
done more for the sake of the dinners
than for the good of the host.
The next custom very generally OBJ
served is to get made kind of rice
bread. This is prepared in the following
manner: The glutinous rice is steamed
up for short time and is then placed in
wooden mortar; it is beaten with a
wooden mallet. In the process of beat
ing it is important that second man
should turn over the rice with his hand,
so as to have it beaten uniformly. When
the rice becomes a mass of glutlnous
substance it is taken out of the mortar
and placed on board covered with dry
rice powder, and there the mass is cut
into the required number and made into
different shapes. In the course of about
three days they get dry. The fiat ones
are cut into square pieces and are to be
eaten by everybody in the first soup
served on the New Years breakfast. l
regret that I cannot enlighten you as to
what this custom is for, nor can explain
how it originated. I have made in
ouiries of some old gentlemen, who are
we'll posted in these matters, but their
usual answer has been simply that
it has been in existence from time
immemorial. Two of the round pieces
of this rice bread will be placed on a
high tray, one on top Of the other, with
some ferns and seaweeds between. An
orange and small dried fish will come
invariably on top of the whole. This
tray will be placed in the most con-
spicuous position in the drawing room
Just before the New Years day, and
will remain there for three, seven or
fifteen days, according to the habits of
the families which have been handed
down from their ancestors.
During the week previous to the New
Years day presents OF all sorts pass
among acquaintances, and of course chill
dren get tho best Of it. The gates,
entrances and even insides of houses are
decorated with evergreens, oranges, sea-
weed. dried fish, charcoal, papers and
the like, all trimmed on straw rope.
Some people have also, besides this,
great big pines, bamboos and plum
trees on both sides of their entrances.
The pines represent great longevity,
bamboo great endurance and strength,
and the plums blossom first of all
flowers.
Another important custom preceding
the New Year is the grand pay day.
Every bill, whether large or small, will
be presented on the 31st day of Decem-
ber, and they are to be paid on that day.
The collectors run about from early
morning until midnight and give the
streets the busiest sight in the whole
year.
Whether you meet all the bills or not,
the next morning is tho greatest holiday
in Japan. Every office, every factory.
every store--in fine, everything-ls
stopped. The postoffices in Japan are
open every other day in the year, but on
New Years day even they are closed.
The male members of a family pay visits
to acauaintances and relatives and cx-
press the compliments of the season.
while female members receive them at
home. The New Years calls are to be
made within three, or, at latest, seven
days. ,.
Everybody is naturally dressed in his
best costume, and children and even
the grown.up people enjoy the New
Years day to the best of advantage.
Among others the handball, battledoor
and shuttlccock and poetical playing
cards are the amusements most induleged
in.
On the I'd day Of January every bust
ness place is open. At least for awhile
schoolboys read one page of their book
and write few lines. All the retail
shops open at the very first hour of the
day. and many of them make some small
presents to customers who buy anything
at all. The buyer class also consider 1t
unucky if they do not make some pur-
chase on the first shopping day of the
year. and the retail districts give very
busy sight.
In the olden days the New Years dec
orations were kept up until the 10Th day
of January, and till then the holidays
continued. But now most of the people
make their holidays much shorter; some
keep only the first three days, while
Others allow seven days.